Pelham Girls Volleyball Playing Better in Losses to Undefeated Hollis-Brookline

by Tommy Gates

Christine Downs

As we approach the halfway mark of the regular season in Class I sports, we see that coach Jen Nugent’s Python girls volleyball team is still searching for the first win of the season, but there is a whole different side to this story. You see, the Pelham lost two matches last week, but both of them came at the hands of 9 - 0 number one ranked Hollis-Brookline. The Pelham girls have also lost to unbeaten Oyster River, and once beaten Portsmouth and Winnesquam, which means that they have only played Souhegan, Fall Mountain, and John Stark who aren’t in the top of the division.

In Pelham last Wednesday night, the Pythons took losses of 25 - 13, 25 - 15, and 25 - 15 to the Cavaliers, as they continued to play tougher as each game went on. Junior Jacqui Perry had eight kills at the net, and freshman Kathryn Mostone handed out eight assists and Sara Jo Fuller had three kills, two blocks and served for seven points. This past Monday coach Nugent and the Pelham girls had to board a bus to go to 8 - 0 Hollis-Brookline again, and the Pythons performance was much better after dropping the first game 25 - 9. The Pelham girls lost the second game 25 - 15 and then played even better in the third game when they lost 25 - 18. Jacqui Perry served for 13 points on the night, to go along with three kills and four blocks. Christine Downs had 14 assists o the evening and also had a pair of kills, while Noelle Reiss had her best outing of the fall, adding nine digs and a kill. This team has another pair of tough road games this week, as they were scheduled to travel to Dover Wednesday night for a meeting with Saint Thomas before heading north for Langdon Saturday night where they were to meet Fall Mountain.

Pelham Field Hockey Makes it Two in a Row After Shutout Over Bedford, Now 3 - 5

by Tommy Gates

Chelsie I’Anson pushes the ball up field for Pelham

I remember reading in a newspaper article last week, that some local sports reporter went out on a limb, and predicted that coach Linda Koehler’s Pelham girls field hockey team was getting ready to go on a mini-winning streak. I know that this team had a 1 - 5 record at the time so I was eager to see what the team would do this week. I wish I could remember that reporter’s name though, because not only did the Pelham girls go to Weare last week and beat John Stark Regional 3 - 1, but they came home Monday and shut out the Bedford Bulldogs 1 - 0 to up their season mark to 3 - 5.

Senior midfielder Chelsie I’Anson got the Pelham girls on the scoreboard in the first half when she took a pass from sophomore Kelsi Lynde and deposited it in the back of the Generals goal. That score stood until halftime as Pelham’s sophomore goalie, Alex Catalano, only had to stop two john Stark shots, but Lynde got Pelham rolling again early in the second half when she scored to stretch the lead to 2 - 0. Senior co-captain Emily Koehler put the frosting on the cake when her blast made it a 3 - 0 game, and the Pythons almost had another three or four goals in the first 45 minutes of the game. Monique Fournier finished between the pipes for Pelham and the Generals scored a late goal against the Python reserves.

This Monday, the 3 - 3 - 1 Bedford Bulldogs came to Pelham for a very important game and Pelham’s forwards and midfielders dominated about 25 minutes of the first half. Pelham did everything but score, until with eight minutes remaining in the half, Emily Koehler blasted a rocket into the net from the top of the circle off a nice pass from junior Keri Foley, and that score held up for the rest of the game. Catalano was called on to make five saves in this game and three of them were testers from in close, but the Pythons kept their two-game winning streak, and are looking ahead to going on the road and beating a pretty good Oyster River team before playing powerful Saint Thomas.

Koehler was still yelling and shouting out encouragement to her girls on their many penalty corners in the second half and she said, “We still have to score off those opportunities. I liked the way we played at John Stark and again today against Bedford, but we’re still letting some scoring chances get away. We must step it up a little more if we’re thinking about beating an Oyster River or a Saint Thomas this week.”

Windham Middle School Cross Country Team Hits Ground Running

The team of 80-plus sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students started their season at the Annual Top Ten Regional hosted by Hood Middle School in Derry on Thursday, September 4. The regional consists of 13 middle schools offering some fierce competition. Our top 10 girls and boys all ran a great race with Kate Farrell placing second overall and first for Windham, her finish time was only one second behind the first-place runner. Andrew Kalil placed 22nd overall and first for Windham. Congratulations to Kate and Andrew and the whole team as they were competing in 86-degree temperatures on and off the field as Hood’s trail starts and ends on their soccer field but leads them through one mile on hot pavement finishing the 2.1-mile meet.

Coaches Ryan Bartlett, PE teacher; and Holly Lannan, second-grade teacher work at Golden Brook School. Lannan joined the team this year and Bartlett has been with the team four years. Lannan and Bartlett will be preparing the team for the next meet with Lurgio Middle School in Bedford on Monday, September 15, at 3:30 p.m. Best of luck to all the team members in their first meet. Team schedule is posted on the Windham Middle School Website under athletics.

Razorback Midgets Knock Off 2007

State Champs 30 - 8

by Tommy Gates

Quarterback Dean Joyce being shadowed by Anthony Spirou

Evidently Pelham High’s big 32 - 0 win over Somersworth Saturday night carried over into Sunday afternoon, as Kevin Jean and Dean Joyce’s Razorback Midgets jumped to a 24 - 8 halftime lead and breezed to a 30 - 8 win over the previously undefeated Nashua Elks. The Pelham/Windham kids struck first when quarterback Dean Joyce dropped back and hit Evan Sage with a 35-yard touchdown pass. Joey Perrone kicked his first of three two-point kicks on the day. And the Razorbacks had their early 8 - 0 lead. This team doubled that lead a while later when running back Joey Perrone dashed into the end zone from 15 yards out and then added another two-point kick to make it a 16 - 0 game. Pelham coach Kevin Jean was very happy with the way his defense played, saying, “This Nashua team won the state championship last year and I don’t think any team even scored on them, so we’re pretty happy about the way we played today.” Nashua got their only score of the day with four minutes left in the first half when they broke a 70-yard run and kicked the two-point conversion, but that’s all that the Razorback defense would give up. With two minutes left in the first half, Dean Joyce decided to go deep and he completed a terrific 60-yard bomb to Brett Bailey who took it all the way down to the Nashua two-yard line before Joyce called his own number two plays later for the score.

Leading 24 - 8 at the break, the Razorback defense stepped it up and were coming with some serious pass rushes that resulted in several big sacks for big losses. Thomas Anderson, James Beaulieu, Zach Breton, Anthony Spirou were all over the Nashua backs “Like a Hobo on a ham sandwich” as they pushed the Elks back about 40 yards just above their own goal line. Dean Joyce finished off the scoring with a one-yard plunge with eight minutes to go to give them a 30 - 8 lead, and they were never threatened. This team is now 3 - 0 and seems to be on a serious mission!

Pelham - Windham Razorbacks Game Report

submitted by Andy Vanti

Jr. Pee-Wee 1: Razorbacks 27 - Laconia Chiefs 0

The Junior Pee Wee 1 (Green) team hosted Laconia in a battle of unbeaten teams during the fifth game of the season in a rainy mud bowl. The Green came out hot with three first half touchdowns in the air including two end zone catches by Ryan Cloutier and another by Joe Frake, each delivered by Brendan McInnis who shredded the defense. That was more than enough because the Big Green defense dominated this game. Kellin Bail and Mitch Hullihen shut down the Chiefs passing game, Michael Goglia, Kevin Anderson, Nick DeCarolis were strong up front, and Shane Lafond, Jack Harrington and Zach Masiello stopped the inside running game. The defense showed team depth with outstanding performance late in the game by Patrick Barry, Mathew Koch, Brendan Mullen, Zach Levell, Brad Kamal, Josh Gallagher, Ryan Craig, Seth McCarthy, Griffin Lippold, and Connor Ford. Kurtis Joliceaur added a touchdown run and Trevor Longo an extra point conversion to seal the game 27 - 0.

Jr. Pee-Wee 2: Razorbacks 22 - Bedford Jaguars 7

A rainy Sunday morning is when football is best played. On Sunday September 28 Bedford Jaguars hosted the Pelham - Windham Razorbacks. Out of the shoot Pelham hit the ground running. Joseph Lavalle averaged 10-plus yards per carry his first four carries setting up a TD run by Stevie ‘The Animal’ Bernabei early in the first. On defense, the Razorbacks drove the Jaguars back resulting in a safety to finish the half. Second half was no different. Victor Pizzoti carried the ball three times for a total of 50 yards setting up a beautiful touchdown pass to Dylan Ragonesse (his second of the season). Alex Parent put the nail in the coffin in the fourth to finish out the day. With a final score of 22 - 7 Razorbacks defeated the Jaguars.

NEGTC Hosts First Local Qualifier to Start Competitive Season.

submitted by Sandie Gentile

New England Gymnastics Training Center of Hudson held its first local qualifier. Many new levels 4, 5, 6 and 7 competed for the first time, with Prep-op advanced also competing. This meet required the gymnasts to score a 31.00 or higher to compete in the upcoming State Sectional in October.

The girls’ scores are as follows:

Level 4, 6 - 7 age division:

Dakota Cummings, Pelham, placed fourth with an all around score of 32.800. She received a 9.3 on vault (first place), 8.50 on bars (second place), 7.55 on beam (seventh place), 7.4 on floor (sixth place).

Cloverlyn Willis, Pelham, placed sixth with an all around score of 32.050. She received a 8.7 on vault (fifth place tie), 8.9 on bars (first place), 7.65 on beam (sixth place), 6.8 on floor (eighth place).

Level 6, 9 - 10 age division:

Cassandra Zaino, Pelham, placed second with an all around score of 34.650. She received a 8.3 on vault (second place), 8.4 on bars (first place tie), 9.1 on beam (second place), 8.85 on floor (second place).

Level 6, 13-plusage division:

Ali Otis, Windham. place first with an all around score of 33.500. She received a 8.9 on vault (first place), 8.3 on bars (first place), 7.4 on beam (first place), 8.9 on floor (first place).

Summer Travel Softball Team Formed

If you went by the fields at Muldoon Park in Pelham this summer you may have seen a group of girls playing softball long after the Little League season had ended. That is because Pelham recently formed a summer travel softball team known as the Pelham Panic (which, by the way, is what they cause not what they feel!). As part of the Middle Essex Softball League out of North Reading, Massachusetts, the team played other towns in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. For many of these girls it was their first introduction to a more competitive level of softball and the team rose to the occasion finishing their season at .500. They are looking to expand the team next summer fielding a 10U as well as a 12U team. If you are interested in playing, contact Linda Dart-Kathios at Linda@kathios.com. It’s never too early to think about next season!

Stephanie Bike Named Manchester Wolves General Manager

Stephanie Bike, formerly the director of corporate operations for the Manchester Wolves and the team’s acting general manager, has been named general manager, the team announced today.

Peter Morris, the general manager last season, will remain as one of the eight partners in the franchise’s ownership group.

Bike, who enters her fourth season with the Wolves, has a clear vision for the future of the franchise.

“With the support we received from Manchester and the surrounding communities this past season, and with Danton (Barto) coming back as our head coach, I envision the 2009 season as another huge success,” she said. “The team’s ability to make it all the way to the American Conference championship this past season leads me to believe that the coming season will bring another year of exciting football for our team and our fans.”

Bike, a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Manchester Central High School, oversaw the advertising, marketing, sales, and sponsorship assignments for the Wolves in her role as the corporate operations director over the past few seasons. As acting general manager, she was responsible for all aspects of team management through the Wolves thrilling playoff run to the American Conference title game in 2008.

Bike started and operated a personal assistant business — “Those Girls” — in 2002 in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Before that, she worked for Maxim and Stuff magazines in New York City in the editorial, advertising, and marketing departments.

Bike lives in Merrimack with her husband Keith and their son and daughter.

The Wolves have also promoted Dave Hamilton from account representative to ticket director, and Dave Best joins Kim Laurendi as an account representative.

Lady Bulldogs Triumphant Over Hooksett

Saturday, September 27, Pelham U12 Girls Travel Soccer team had a strong showing on a dreary Saturday afternoon by defeating Hooksett 2 - 1 on the road at the Tri-Town River Field in Hooksett.

The Lady Bulldogs struggled to find the back of the net but managed to tally first as Jayme Sloan, with an assist from Bailee Duarte, fired a shot high, right, and out of the reach of the keeper. The game remained tight as Pelham’s defense did an excellent job pressing Hooksett and keeping the ball in the opposing half for several extended stretches. The defensive highlight of the game came from Kendra Luciano who was patrolling the goal line as Hooksett was launching an attack, Luciano saved and cleared a blast on goal assisting keeper Madison Odryna in averting a score. Hooksett did manage to tie things up in the second half with excellent teamwork and strong finishing play. Breaking the tie and propelling Pelham to victory was Brooke Paradis fed by Taylor Patterson with a skillfully played chip shot just over the head of the Hooksett keeper.

The Pelham Bulldogs play again Saturday, October 4 at 3:30 p.m. against the Lightning Soccer Club at Muldoon Park, and then return to the road, Sunday against Tri Town Soccer in Goffstown.

Athlete Accolades Wanted!

Attention Parents. Is your child involved with Recreation or School sports? If so we would love to hear from you. We are currently looking for “Media Parents” to submit pictures/articles from home and/or away games in the Windham area. Please send your stories via E-mail to news@areanewsgroup.com. Photo should be sent in a jpeg format. For more information contact Robin or Len at the Area News Group offices at 880-1516.